#Turkey2017: Pamukkale (Travertines, Heriapolis and Karahayit)

Pamukkale (or cotton castle in Turkish) was one of the major reasons why I wanted to go to Turkey. Of all the travel inspo photos on Pinterest, it's the travertines, along with the fairy chimneys of Cappadocia and the ancient city of Ephesus, that made me book the tickets to Turkey even if I know I'll have some major major creative accounting to do to survive until Christmas.

Because it's the second stop on our tour and I know we'll be haggard by this time, I booked a 2 night stay at Bellamaritimo Hotel for 30 Euros or 140 TL so we'll have enough time to rest. Mr. Halim was even kind enough to accommodate an early check-in for us (we arrived from Cappadocia at around 6AM) without extra charges - to which we'll be eternally grateful because we're all dead on our feet.

Pamukkale Natural Park

After sleeping in for a bit, we decided to go on a walk to get a feel of the place. Locals don't smile as much but all the children and highschoolers (even in Denizli) we see kept on saying hi to us, or konnichiwa or China (the fiance thought maybe because I look Chinese hehe). We did see a handful of kabayans on solo trips as well, mostly from UAE and one from Oman.

Happy kiddies

The following day we began our Pamukkale adventure! Looks like snowww but it's not! Chos.

Ok first of all, lafang muna. Left a stellar review for the hotel on the merits of this spread alone. Winner! (new fave for breakfast: Simit)

Energy loading at 0900H

Well rested and tummies full, we hiked up to the middle entrance and paid 35 TL per person to enter the travertines, which was a 10-15 minute walk from the hotel. Too bad that it was cold and we had to walk barefoot all the way to the top. Our feet was pretty numb halfway and the terrain was quite rough specially in the areas where the water was not flowing ~ but it's definitely worth it to see the landscape.

Before we entered the area, a local who was offering paragliding advised us to just go back in the afternoon so we'd still have energy to see the sunset.

Took us almost 3-4 hours to roam around Heriapolis, including the trek down again the travertines. The day after this tour, we noticed that there's a dolmus or mini bus (3 TL per person, per way) which will bring you to what I think is the main gate if you're not up for the barefoot trek. If you see a dolmus going the Pamukkale-Karahayit area, flag it down (there's a stop in front of the supermarket where a bus goes by every 20 minutes) and ask if it's the right bus to the gate.

On our last day, we went on a dolmus (3TL) to Karahayit or as what Mr. Halim says, a mini Grand Bazaar. There are multiple hot springs and hotels in the area as well, like the one below. Entrance to this is free and in summer, it's usually flocked by tourists to swim in as the thermal waters and mud has healing properties. 

CAN IT BE DONE AS A DAYTRIP?

Yes, it can be if you're coming from Selcuk by train in the early morning. If you're up to do this as a stopover to Selcuk from Cappadocia, you can leave your bags at the bus company - they're pretty cool with it, and just come back in the afternoon to catch the dolmus back to Denizli.

However, if you're doing Aphrodisias, Kaklik Cave and Laodicea, you can do Pamukkale as an overnight trip :) Just coordinate with your hotel for the tours.

Have fun and we hope you'll enjoy it as much as we did!